While I am still enjoying the holiday high (and feeling blissfully stuffed), I am also looking forward to the many initiatives the PA SHPO has in the works for 2024.
Category: Environmental Review (Page 5 of 14)
O’er the Bridge We Go!
For many, the holidays are filled with stories and traditions of the past. Just hearing the song Jingle Bells makes me wonder what it would feel like to go dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh. Or better yet, to ride a sleigh over a historic metal truss bridge. Oh, what fun that would be!
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A New Funding Source for Metal Truss Bridges
If you have been following the PA SHPO Blog, then you have probably read about the Metal Truss Bridge Management Plan (Management Plan) and the ongoing effort by PennDOT and the PA SHPO to preserve historic metal truss bridges whenever feasible. Recently, as of 2021, a new federally funded program has been created to support the rehabilitation of these bridges.
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Meet the Paleo-Digger
October is Archaeology Month! Today’s post by Guest Contributor PennDOT archaeologist Steve McDougal covers using a non-traditional method for field tests: the Paleo-Digger.
Every archaeological survey poses different conditions and challenges. For PennDOT’s SR 22/322 safety improvement project in Northern Dauphin County, one of the big challenges is the depth of soils involved. Past excavation in the 1990s for this area showed us that the soil column with archaeological potential could extend 3.5 to 4.5 meters (11.5 to 14.75 feet) in depth below current ground surface.
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Dramatic Finish for Warner Theatre Project
Few buildings are more iconic to downtown Erie than the historic Warner Theatre. At 91-years-old, the luxury movie palace still offers an environment “twice as rich, three times more fanciful than life.”
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The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office has developed guidance on the evaluation of New Deal historic resources found along roadways. The project came about in response to an increasing number of requests for National Register evaluation of such properties through the Section 106 consultation process.
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Are you interested in joining a proactive and dedicated team of preservationists, historians, and archaeologists? The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (PA SHPO) is seeking a Historic Preservation Specialist with a discipline in archaeology within the Environmental Review division.
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In a given year, PA SHPO consults with federal agencies, applicants, and preservation stakeholders on thousands of federal undertakings in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. For some context, PA SHPO staff reviewed over 5,100 federal and state projects in 2021.
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The Archaeology of a Village Blacksmith Shop
In 1823, a blacksmith named John W. Miller moved into what is now southeastern Blair County with his wife, Mary, and their three-year-old son, James. In their first years there they built their house and a small blacksmith shop along an existing road between Bedford and Rebecca Furnace. They didn’t have neighbors in those early years, but that wouldn’t last long.
Continue readingPA SHPO’s Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, and a companion worksheet, Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania, are published to the PHMC website and ready for use.
These guidelines replace the PA SHPO’s How to Complete the Pennsylvania Historic Resource Survey Form guidance from November 2014. The Historic Resource Survey Form, or HRSF, was retired in February 2021. Information about older and historic places, including buildings, landscapes, archaeological sites, and bridges, is now submitted to the PA SHPO through PA-SHARE. While PA SHPO no longer uses the HRSF, the same information is collected through PA-SHARE.
You can find the Guidelines and Worksheet in the Above Ground Resources and National Register sections of PHMC’s Forms and Guidance webpage and on the Survey Contact and Guidance page:
- Guidelines for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Guidelines%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf.
- Worksheet for Recording Buildings in Pennsylvania: https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Preservation/About/Documents/Worksheet%20for%20Recording%20Buildings%20in%20Pennsylvania.pdf. This is the same worksheet that is included in the Guidelines, just available on its own as a separate fillable PDF for users. Do not submit the worksheet to PA SHPO in place of completing the PA-SHARE online form. The worksheet is intended to be a tool to assist users in the collection of information for buildings and using PA-SHARE. Resources must be submitted through PA-SHARE.
Please note: These guidelines do not include the technical guidance for entering information about above ground buildings in PA-SHARE. For step-by-step instructions on how to access and use PA-SHARE, please refer to PA SHPO’s tutorial, Adding Above Ground Resources to PA-SHARE.
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